Friday, October 31, 2008

Two things happened today which made me decide on this post. First, I was in court waiting on a friend of mine when I struck up a conversation with an older African American gentleman. He was there supporting his grandson who was being tried on a drug charge. He asked me if I was a lawyer, I said yes, and we took it from there. I never like to answer legal questions to people I don't represent, so I changed the subject. I asked him what he thought of the upcoming elections, and if he thought his O ness was going to win. "Yes lawd yes", he told me. "Honestly man, I can't wait for November 4th to get here, I just hope and pray that they don't do nothing to that man, and that he don't say nothing stupid to piss off these white folks." (Did I tell you that I love Philly? The honesty from the man on the street here is refreshing)

The second thing happened while driving home. True confessions; I often listen to conservative talk radio. And one of their host was going on and on about how disappointed African Americans will be if Obama loses. He said (and I am paraphrasing) that even if Obama wins, it won't be long before black folks are so disappointed in him that they are going to be in for a tremendous let down. In essence what he was saying was that black folks have so much invested emotionally in Obama, that it could get ugly if he loses. And that we should chill and take it down a notch. s

Both those experiences had me thinking about this final weekend of the campaign, and just what will the reaction be if Obama loses? (Oh yes he could lose. These rethugs play dirty, and they will do anything to win an election) Will we take to the streets like some seem to want to suggest? Will we just sit around the house and not eat for days, like someone who has just been dumped by the love of their life? Or will it finally cause black folks to wake up from all the grinning and jiving here in A-merry-ca, and force us to become politically conscious and engaged?

And what if he does win? How long will the feeling of euphoria last? Folks, we can only party to EWF, eat fried chicken and drink Caurvoisier for so long. What happens when the O man has to start making real policy decisions that might affect programs that we care about? What happens when Obama appoints a federal Judge whose views we find repulsive? What happens when the O man has to go to some of those red states that we wish would just fucking secede and make nice?

I am going to come clean right now: I will be a happy camper if Obama wins, because I think his election is important and historic. I think his temperament and persona is suited for the office, and I honestly think he will rule from the center. But the first day he fucks up, I will be calling him out right here on this blog. And please don't give me the he is a brotha so cut him some slack speech. His job is too important, and honestly, I think he will understand that. He will understand that he doesn't get a free pass from black critical thinkers just because he is black. Maybe this isn't the best analogy but I will use it anyway: Donovan is the quarterback of my hometown Eagles. When his ass throws a bad pass or makes a bad audible in the huddle, I don't think there is anyone in Philadelphia who boos his ass as loud as I do. Why? Because he is the quarterback of my team, and I hold his ass accountable for his actions on that football field. The O man is the quarterback of the country, and I will be holding his ass accountable for what goes on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Our boy is not close to winning this thing yet. And to stay with our football analogy, it's the fourth quarter and McCain is down, but he has three time- outs left.

November 4th the whistle will sound, and the game will be over. If you look up at that scoreboard and Obama has 277, go to FOX NEWS or turn on conservative talk radio and get ready to have some fun. If it's McCain, on the other hand, sitting at that number, get a nice travel magazine and start dusting off your passport. Because Mr. Morton will be coming after all of you Negroes, and since damn near 96% of you are voting for Obama, he can just pretty much point and shoot. (Relax Sarah, I don't mean that in a literal way)

80 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Well, Field sense McCain never cared for us Black folk in the least. I could care less about what he will do. The Black race has been suffering for centuries and not a damn thing Mr. Morton and his band of Morons can do to make me fear them even more.

Our race has been to hell and back for a long time. So, if they bring the drama they better be prepared for us to go out in a blaze of glory. I hope Obama wins for the good of the country. But if he doesn't then at least we Know McCain will ensure the end of America for all White, Black, Asian & Latino. End times folks!

I feel Obama will win. But he has to win BIG because if it is even close, the fix will kick in and the republicans will steal the election and that horrid woman who thinks women made pregnant by rape or incest have to have that baby (of course she does not care if we kill thousands of people in this ill conceived war) that horrid woman will be one heartbeat away from taking over the country. And a woman's right to choose what is right for her will be lost.

Make sure your friends and neighbors vote. Take the day off from work and help go door to door to make sure everybody votes. If you have a car volunteer to drive people to the polls who have no way of getting there.

It is not a sure thing and every vote counts. If Obama does not win by a very large margin, we have lost thing thing and the country is lost.

You must have a helluva strong stomach to listen to conservative talk radio! Obama's going to do it; we just have to vote. I'm impressed by many things about him, including that he will continue to surround himself with a diversity of opinion-- he's receptive to feedback and criticism. Unlike the criminals who are in the Oval Office now. I really hope it's a landslide, and I hope I never see Sarah Palin's mug again. What a poor excuse for a candidate--nothing but a joke.

We can't take anything for granted here. If anything can happen anything will happen. We have to vote and get out the vote if Obama is going to win this election. And he has to win with a margin that simply can't be challenged.

And if he wins - and I pray he does - I agree that he will govern from the middle. He has too. But, when he screws up like every other POTUS has done in the past, I too will be on is a$$ like white on rice - the race card won't be played by me (or least I hope not).

But the first day he fucks up, I will be calling him out right here on this blog. And please don't give me the he is a brotha so cut him some slack speech. His job is too important, and honestly, I think he will understand that. He will understand that he doesn't get a free pass from black critical thinkers just because he is black.

He will get a certain amount of slack from me because:

1. He is a Democrat, and so am I.

2. By the time he gets in, the economy is going to be in deep shit.

3. On the best day, in the best of times, the best politician gives you two-thirds of what you wanted.

I was a Clinton supporter, and dumped her after Geraldine Ferraro's crap. I didn't get on board with him farther than the usual support for whoever the hell the Democrats nominate, for a couple of months.

What did it for me on Obama is the combination of intelligence and steadiness under pressure. Those are the things we want in a president. So, I have high hopes, but I'm telling myself not to let them get too high because there will be days when I'll wonder how the hell I ever got fooled into this one.

why do you have to make a special point of how you will react to obama if he wins and fs up. Treat him like you would a mccain if he won and not have to show you would give him a pass.

the problem with all this is we are not giving this man the credit of running an excellent campaign in the primary and general elections.

As a first to hold a position never held by a brother its refreshing to be treated not as a unique but as a man who holds a job after some said i would be out in less than 6 months its now six years for me

ZOGBY SATURDAY: McCain outpolled Obama 48% to 47% in Friday, one day, polling. He is beginning to cut into Obama's lead among independents, is now leading among blue collar voters, has strengthened his lead among investors and among men, and is walloping Obama among NASCAR voters. Joe the Plumber may get his license after all...

"We can't take anything for granted here. If anything can happen anything will happen. We have to vote and get out the vote if Obama is going to win this election. And he has to win with a margin that simply can't be challenged."

great point sjp, republican lawyers are crawling all over Pistol-vania.

"You must have a helluva strong stomach to listen to conservative talk radio!"

ZOGBY SATURDAY: McCain outpolled Obama 48% to 47% in Friday, one day, polling. He is beginning to cut into Obama's lead among independents, is now leading among blue collar voters, has strengthened his lead among investors and among men, and is walloping Obama among NASCAR voters.

Interesting post, I've been thinking some of the same things. Obama policy promises are bold will take a while to implement and of course the fed elections happen every two years. If he's smart he'll opt for a balancing act rather than just trying to push it through.

Field, please post on the New Orleans Judicial system when you can. It's new news and it's fascinating in a car crash kind of way. It would be good to hear your take on it.

I hear you field, but listen; all the messiah hype is not coming from Black people. The messiah hype is coming from Limpbutt and the EIB nut works. Black people are euphoric about Barry and his success, but we are also very realistic. I am fifty-six years old and I ain't seen nobody with a magic wand yet. Barrack is amazing, but Black people have never had reason to wear rose colored glasses in A merry Ka. We are the Kings and Queens of delayed gratification and there are very few who know the evil machinations of A-merry-ka better than us.

If Obama should lose, his supporters should be quite, so quite that it would fluster the talk show host, pundits, and bloggers. Bloggers who wanted Obama to win should post about Daylight Savings Time. Let McCain's supporters sweat out those conspiracy theories.

szpork,the big easy has always had problems when it comes to their judicial system and law enforcement. It would take forever to explain some of the reasons. We could start with corruption, and poverty.

"I hear you field, but listen; all the messiah hype is not coming from Black people"

adabu, that's a fair point. But why do I get the feeling that we would be more dissapointed than other folks?

"FIELD,DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A "black critical thinker"? Just asking, since you used that phrase in your post."

anon.11:20PM, let me answer that for you: YES! Do you? Or did you just sleep at a Holiday Inn last night?

Anonymous said: "Well, Field sense McCain never cared for us Black folk in the least."

When will we stop worrying about white people "caring" for us and start caring about ourselves. That line is getting so tired with 70% of black babies being born out of wedlock and our inner city schools failing. When will black people start caring for black people? When will black "progenators" (sperm-donors) become fathers and husbands? when will black parents start taking an active role in the education of their children? When will black men get a back bone and start taking care of their families so we won't need Barack Obama's $500-700 tax credit? When will black people stop waiting for white america to fix their ills (pathology is a more appropriate term actually) We are no longer on the plantation (except in our shackled minds) and do not need "massa" to care for us. I would like to ask anonymous and others who used that stupid-azz cliche --how many white people do you care for? We need to progress in our collective mentality because it's stunting our collective growth in maturity as a people. If we are waiting for white politicians to "care" for us we will forever remain at the bottom of every demographic.

I am not voting for Obama (or McCain). But it is understood in my home that the president is deserving of repsect and our prayers - whether we agree with him (or her) or not.

Those comments that the older African-American gentleman gave you really bother me on several levels. There is genuine fear for lack of safety in his words. In 2008, this gentleman has those fears. The fact that our older black citizens (and younger ones for that matter) live with fear of the worst represents our collosal failure as a country to provide and environment of safety and security. My wife's parents have echoed similar sentiments.

I’ve enjoyed every minute of this political season ...the life lessons, would fill pages of a book and the energy that comes with ..what’s happening at this time in America. A man of color is running for the President of the United States of America.. For Real

A large population of the Black community was focused on the task from day one (the ancestors are proud). There was Rev. Wright.. Tavis/the Black Bourgeois sphere and Kwane had to get a phone call. (I believe The Right Rev. Jesse Jackson testis remark was indeed a remarkable play, a great call by team Obama). Eventually, all of those distractions passed and the community moved forward.

Whatever happens Tuesday, November 4, 2008, we will be better.. it’s comes from that place in us.. which makes us who we are.

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Things aren't going to just magically be better if/when Obama wins. I've stated all along, I'm nervous either way. I'll be Obama's biggest supporter Nov 4th...but on the 5th...It's on and cracking!

Yup, Adam it is scary isn't it, but it has been a part of our history that we need to learn from, instead clinging to, and repeating it. However, it is kind of hard to do that when you got politicians inciting racial violence towards another politician because of the color of his skin, and people like Rush, Hannity, and Hal Turner agitating and spiting out poisonous hatred. It would be a wonderful thing if we could make that song, "We Shall Overcome" or the speech "I Have A Dream" given by "Martin L. King a reality, instead of just a hope and dream.

Oh boy. If you only know how many soca and calypso songs are being song about Obama. It seems black people all over have a huge emotional stake in this election. And if he loses, it would be a total devastation indeed.

I'm just worried that when Obama does get in, people (blacks included) will unfairly hold him to higher standards and others will accuse and question him on everything to ad nauseam.

"If it's McCain, on the other hand, sitting at that number, get a nice travel magazine and start dusting off your passport."

Well I could always move to Emirates. I could mop floors and earn a hundred thousand US bucks a year. I mean this is serious, and could you imagine if Mc kicks the bucket while in office? Moose breath will hunt us down for sure.

Oh yeah Field, if you google the phrase "black man running down the street naked" I think your blog comes up number three or four. ke ke ke ke ke :)

(ok.... I think people are beginning to notice how I'm a little too excited and preoccupied about this naked run).

Oh yeah, Granny was not impressed by D L Hughly's CNN hour. I didn't like it at all. Comedians even though they crack jokes, there is some truth in what they say, and to try and label Obama as some type of negro thug didn't set right with me. Please tell me that D L Hughly didn't make that up and that someone wrote that script for him, because I was not laughing. It's getting to the point that CNN is starting to show their true colors too.

CNN ought to get rid of Lou Dobbs as well. He is a straight butthole, with his mean self.

The first thing President Obama has said he will do will take time & much work, but is effective, & after a few months we'll see the results. That is to review every one of Bush's presidential directives & orders. I'll be watching for it on the NOAA website, when that agency's scientists are no longer censored on global warming. Thousands of right wing bureaucrats to fire, demote, & transfer to basement holes. First he has to clean house, & he will, you can bet on that.

Now, I feel much better knowing Obama is ahead of the magic 270 number by more than 60. It's a far greater climb for the Old Coot to make up nearly 100 Electoral votes.

We should expect to see the race tighten but not by the amount projected by FIXED Noise or the pajamas media.

The most important point I can make is this: Vote on Tuesday. No matter what is happening with the kids, whether you had a fight with your spouse, if it's raining, snowing or is 90' degrees with humidity. Please, Vote on Tuesday.

The only thing that could conceivably lead to Obama losing is if we get complacent and don't vote.

FieldMaybe you want to rethink your postion on gun control, either way if OBAMA wins, they will want to make him the fall guy, and we will have to deal with all the disgruntled crazies, and if he loses, well we will have to deal with McPain policies, and his moronic crazies.Did you hear that gun sales are up 17%...

Conservative Black WomanI'll stop bitchin when White Folks stop being hypocrites and giving Joe the fake Plumbers...a free pass in this country, and invest in its youth, and really fund education! And stop funding the Miltary/Prison Industrial Complex!I'm not waiting on White Folks for handouts, if you preach that you want Egalitarian Society, and a level playing field! Cut this bullshit out, Im glad Colin came to his senses!Maybe the rest of you conservative negroes will!

Well, this isn't just about dark to darker skinned Americans, Field. It's about all of us. The disappointment would run very deep for many people, we all have a lot invested in this.

And the repugs will try to steal this election, there is no doubt about that, we know they can do that; but, this election isn't about color, although that is one way they will try to steal it, to keep harping on this non-issue. And for the rest of us to buy into this lie, it risks being lumped into the same category as the Repug Ilk who have a singleminded idea that this and all elections are about Roe vs Wade (another manipulation).

It's a dangerous construct to believe that this is about a black man being voted into office, and I'm not taking anything away from the historic resonance of that notion, because it's amazing. It brings hot tears to my eyes sometimes, the idea that we might finally, in my own lifetime, transcend this insanity that infers skin color or culture somehow indicate superiority (sorry for the teary sentiment, it's my latent Quakerism).

But, we have to agree, all of us, that this young'ish American, who IS all of us - he IS us, he is the right man for the job, and he and his family should be in the White House.

Now, if it's any consolation, while wringing my hands in worry the other day I did ask The Mechanic what he thought we should do if McPalin wins next week, and he answered succintly, "Build a militia."

(Obama's going to win, so no worries. Did you listen on NPR interview with the secret service guy who disclosed Obama's recent code name? They are calling him "44") (See, you'd know that if you turned off conservative radio ... :))

I am not afraid what ever comes maybe...the Times of London owned by no other than nasty Rupert owner of faux news has been running stories for months tracking Obama's family in Africa and beyond( he even has a brother in China it seems), they ran this story about his aunt who happens to live in poverty in a project in Boston: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5042571.ece

(the comments about him needing to spread the wealth with his own family as you can imagine didnt wait too long)...after they ran the story it came out that the lady is actually an illegal immigrant: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27481680/ ...I mean damn! was this necessary?

If Obama wins on Nov. 4th, will our celebration be limited to his racial/cultural identity? I hope not because the man clearly transcends that cancerous sickness. A seismic/paradigm-like shift in how we perceive ourselves as a nation has taken place. That, I believe is the real victory - that Americans have begun to turn the corner on our ugly history; have begun to transcend identity politics, especially after Sept. 11th. (When I see how the Mormon grandparents of my grandchild give her unconditional love, tears come to my eyes). I continue to struggle with completely liberating myself from the shackles of race/identity politics. Conservative black woman said: "...When will black people, especially black men, stop whining about 'white people'; when will we start cleaning up our own communities...?". Amen, sistuh. I remain kind of pessimistic, however - (The teachings of Willie Sutton [the Dr. Phil/Karl Rove of his 18th century day] continue to infect black people here in 21st century America. If Obama wins, my belief that Americans are changing will be vindicated. If Mcpalin and the rethugs steal this election (and, they will), economic/medical-care issues will remain the same and/or get worse. I am watching - with abated breath and ghastly fascination - how they will kick the remaining legs of this declining civilization out from underneath us. And, finally, you know...we will deserve what we get.

You wrote a very honest post, and yes people we vote into office we should hold them accountable if they do something that is not best for the country. Would be disappointed I if Obama loses, yes, but I was also disappointed when Gore and Kerry lost and concerned about the Supreme Court decision Gore v Bush, and voter suppression which gives me an indication that should have all the more reason to vote because it is important and a right.

I think observing this campaign as been the most exciting one in my lifetime, and the probability that we would elect our first African-American as President of the United States with a running a campaign that has been the most discipline and organized I have seen. He managed to beat a huge politician machine, the Clintons (something the Republicans could not successfully do).

I agree with you Field, and also think that Obama was underestimated in his ability because the focus was on his inexperience, but turned out to be a very deft politician probably even better than Bill Clinton. Bill has his smarts and ability to connect with people going for him, but Obama took an opportunity after people realized that been personable isn't enough to run the country and it's time for someone who is competent and there is the fortuitous circumstance of the economy coming into play with Mr. Morton looking very unhinged and not very leadership like. Obama exudes leadership, and that's something the country has been missing for some time. Mavericks, although independent, are loose cannons and it's not a very good leadership quality.

I do still disagree with you about Sarah Palin, as my grandmother would say every shut eye ain't sleep, and every goodbye ain't gone. I always found that southern adage to be very profound as it relates to human nature.

I did think Obama winning the election will end racism as it is very profoundly rooted in America's psyche. We do not have honest discussions about the perception of race or class. Personally, I believe that race does divide this country to an extent it's part of what the cultural wars are about. Racism dies out when the next generation becomes more educated and interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Race does divide and that impedes on our progress as a nation. The nation cannot be great unless the people can come together on one accord. However, we tend to lean toward our darker side of human nature as something terribly goes wrong it's the other group's fault.

No, Obama becoming isn't going to chance race in that within it of itself, we have to look to ourselves for that to happen. We have to change our mindset. In addition, life is unfair and everyone does not have the opportunity to reach that level or do anything he or she wants. I know that is part of the American Dream that we like to believe, but it isn't not realistic or true. I believe in creating the best life possible for oneself, but thinking you to can be like Oprah Winfrey is not very realistic. Why is Joe the Plumber famous when he has not visible talent to speak of, and we barely know the name of the doctor who has almost cracked the genome code?

Black Diaspora @ 3:04am: Beautifully said. 'Bout time you started your own blog!

Granny@1:33am, that' one of my favorite songs of all time. I think it was after the 2004 election that I played it in an almost endless loop for about a week, in an attempt to get some optimism going. Sam Cooke left us too soon, as have so many talented people.

When Bill Clinton was elected by in 1992, 100,000 of my closest friends and neighbors turned out into the streets and danced and sang "Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is Dead." I expect no less from them with Obama's election.

If this election were to be stolen from Obama as it was from Gore in 2000, I hope those same 100,000 friends and neighbors will return to that same street and sing another song, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it any more!" Okay, that wasn't a song, but it's okay because we're going to be way too angry to be singing. And our riot is not going to be race based. This ain't about race. Neither was the last one, so my African-American brothers and sisters, pay attention. Any stolen elections this next time is NOT about race.

If the Repugs could make the election about race and Obama should lose because of it, then you can riot and it'll be your riot, but so far they haven't been able to make Obama's race a central issue. Oh, hell, sure Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, probably West Virginia, Arkansas and Tennessee, race is exactly the driving issue that will make those states vote for McCain, but that issue isn't resonating like it used to.

But let's think positive. Obama has run a brilliant campaign and I honestly and firmly believe his campaign has contingency plans in place and nobody gonnna steal nothin' from us.

Go Obama! Also vote NO on Prop. 8 in California, and please, please, please, if you have relatives or friends in California, call them and ask them to vote NO on 8. We need the help.

WTH!!! Hypocrisy is a part of the human condition --white people are not the only ones suffering from hypocrisy so if you are waiting for White people to stop being hypocrites then you will never stop bitchin' (who will listen or care for that matter)

you also write: " invest in its youth, and really fund education! And stop funding the Miltary/Prison Industrial Complex!"

Do you have children? If so, I hope you are investing in them because that's your job not the government's job. If more parent's were investing in their children perhaps there would be no need for "miltary/prison industrial complex".

"I'm not waiting on White Folks for handouts, if you preach that you want Egalitarian Society, and a level playing field! Cut this bullshit out, Im glad Colin came to his senses!Maybe the rest of you conservative negroes will!"

You contradict yourself with this statement because in our society in order to level the playing field you will have to get a handout especially if you are so busy "bitchin" (your word not mine)that you fail to take the necessary steps to increase your earning power and accumulate wealth. I have come to my senses and realized that we are the larger part of the problem at this point. This bitchin' hasn't served us well and it's time to develop a better strategy. May you liberal negroes will come to your senses before too long. Maybe after four years Obama ya'll will.

Back in the 50's, 60's, and early 70's many of the songs were prophetic in a sense and some of the musical artist were deep thinkers.

People like The Impressions, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Curtis Mayfield. Their songs were inspirational. People should google and read some of the lyrics to their songs back then. This one should have been one of Senator Obama's theme songs. Here is the lyrics to another song you will probably remember that speaks of today:

Wake Up Everybody

Wake up everybody no more sleepin in bedNo more backward thinkin time for thinkin aheadThe world has changed so very muchFrom what it used to be sothere is so much hatred war an' povertyWake up all the teachers time to teach a new wayMaybe then they'll listen to whatcha have to sayCause they're the ones who's coming up and the world is in their handswhen you teach the children teach em the very best you can.

The world won't get no better if we just let it beThe world won't get no better we gotta change it yeah, just you and me.

Wake up all the doctors make the ol' people wellThey're the ones who suffer an' who catch all the hellBut they don't have so very long before the Judgement Day

So won'tcha make them happy before they pass away.Wake up all the builders time to build a new landI know we can do it if we all lend a handThe only thing we have to do is put it in our mindSurely things will work out they do it every time.

"If so, I hope you are investing in them because that's your job not the government's job."

So, please do tell me what do you think that the government's job, exactly,is since they shouldn't invest in education? Can you please answer that question for me, I'm curious to know exactly how you think the government should invest our hard-earned taxpayer dollars.

"If more parent's were investing in their children perhaps there would be no need for "miltary/prison industrial complex"."

Okay, so do you think that education shouldn't be funded with the taxpayer's money, but instead out of their own pockets? And is a lack of education the reason why we have military/prison complex or is it because of wrong choices some people make in life? If your answer is lack of education, would you explain to me why we have white collar criminals that are highly educated? And was it because their parents invested in their future or didn't invest in their future?

"Do you have children?"

Yes, I have both children and grandchildren. In addition, I have nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, great-great nieces and great-great nephews whose education, also, concerns me

"When will black men get a back bone and start taking care of their families so we won't need Barack Obama's $500-700 tax credit?"

Lawd, you mean to tell me that now the reason for tax credits is because black men don't have a back bone and don't take care of their families? I'll say! And all this time I thought tax credits were given to help put some money back in taxpayer's pockets and stimulate the economy.

Okay, so now, are you telling me it's okay for Corporate America and rich folks to want and reap a tax credit, but the average middleclass and poor American shouldn't ask for any type of tax relief from the government. All the middleclass and poor folks should want to do is work hard, pay taxes, and let Corporate America and the rich folks benefit?

"When will black people stop waiting for white america to fix their ills ."

First of all, I don't think black people are waiting on White America to fix their ills, in fact, I think they are waiting on White America to give them a job, a fair chance to climb up the employment ladder, be treated with the same dignity and respect as they do their own race, and be given the same equal opportunities. Oh, there is one more thing blacks want and that is for the Republican white Americans to mind their own business and clean up their own backyard, before they come over trying to supervise ours. From your rantings, I take it you don't know too many black people and the few you do know are negative thinking black folks; therefore, limiting your scope on black people as a whole. Because there are believe it or not a great deal of positive black people do exist in America.

"That line is getting so tired with 70% of black babies being born out of wedlock and our inner city schools failing."

I know you didn't go there, not after the Parrot with Lipstick and McCain remarks about Bristol little bun in the oven and she is not married YET! I thought we had finally came to a conclusion and reached an agreement that folks is normal and just having problems like anyone else. Don't go hyprocritical on us now, because I'm beginning to think that the Republican party as a whole is ERRATIC.

"When will black "progenators" (sperm-donors) become fathers and husbands?"Do you preach that same message to white folks, because "sperm-donors" as you call them come in all colors. If you don't take my word for it, watch the Jerry Springer or Maury show, or ask Child Support Agencies.

"We are no longer on the plantation (except in our shackled minds) and do not need "massa" to care for us."

Whelp, speaking for myself, I have never ever been on a plantation before in my life, nor have I ever had a massa. I was born into this world free, my mind is free, and anyone who would try and take that freedom away from me would get the worse azz whooping they've ever had in their life. Because Granny ain't going out like that. You see, praying ain't all I know how to do, and anyone who would try to infringe on my freedom would find that out with the quickness.

Field, I know you're a good man trying to do the right thing. I suggest to you that you take the last 48 hours of this race, go to the 'hood and make sure that the young people living there get out and vote. I know, I know, it's not glamorous like blogging but, in your heart, you know it's the right thing to do. Obama might have won the primary had the younger inner city voters done their thing. This is their opportunity for redemption. Good luck.

I want to tell you about voting. Where I live, they mail out the ballots. You can mail them back in, or you can drop them off in a few places in the county. Yesterday (Friday), I drove to the mainn county administrative building to drop off my ballot because I didn't want to give the postal service the opportunity to lose it.

This is my ninth presidential election, and there have been some before that I thought were important. There was 1980, when I voted against Reagan. There was 1992, when I voted for Clinton. There was 2000, when I voted against Bush Jr. There was 2004, when I voted against Bush Jr. and donated 10x the amount of money I had ever given before.

Grannystandingfortruth~Who the hell cares about the pathology in the white community and Bristol Palin's pregnant Azz! We need to get our house in order and stop deflecting to other races as justification of our mess. It isn't the governments job to educate my child, I don't trust the gov't with that task. It the gov'ts job to guarantee my liberty freedoms and to exact justice. For the records I know legions of successful, positive progressive black people (some of them are even democrats) but none of them are whiners and complainer blaming the system for their failures nor do they allow the system to keep them down. I surmise that this is an accurate description of you. However, there are many of us who would rather cast blame and accuse whites and the system than to get off their lazy asses and do the right things for themselves and their offspring. Perhaps you don't know many black folks? oh yeah,regarding your comment about a fair chance to climb the corporate ladder -- affirmative action is alive and well so I'm not sure what else you think they are going to do? Actually, how exactly should white america, corporate america, the system fix the social ills of black america? Give us jobs, build bigger schools, never send any black criminals to jail?

I hope I'm wrong, but you come across as one of those undercover white racist posing as a black woman. Either that or you hate your own race, which is even worse in my book, because it's like spitting in the face of our Creator.

My question to you wasn't is it the governments job to educate your children, my question had to do with FUNDING education with taxpayers money. Even a child knows that teachers are the educators and their poorly paid in their profession at that. However, I noticed you went on another one of your blame the blacks talking points for everything that ails America rants, while evading my questions.

Oh so you know LEGIONS of successful black people but yet you have a MAJOR negative view of black people as a whole. I don't know where you get off calling black folks whiners and complainers blaming the system for their failures since you know LEGIONS of black successful progressive folks. Don't LEGIONS outnumber a few?

I hate to beg your pardon, but I started working when I was 14 years old and I'm retired now. I sent my children to college and even raised a couple of children that were not mine or my husbands. Facts of business, I was one of those whining folks as you call them that was on the front line fighting and whining for civil rights and enforcing civil rights laws so that your black arrogant azz would be able get a job and education, that is if you're really a black woman, which I doubt seriously. However, one thing that I didn't do was forget where I came from like some folks do. I chose to remain down-to-earth and keep it real.

Affirmative action??? You really need to get out more because there is no Affirmative action anymore, Ward Connelly and Reagan took care of that with the so-called reverse discrimination theory. Yup, they squashed that like a bug.

What makes matters worse you turned and answered my questions with questions in order to evade answering my questions, because you have no talking points that answer them.

Lawd, if you are black you make Jesse Lee Peterson look good, and please believe me I meant that as no compliment.

Some women run men off with their attitudes. Don't no man want to come home to no woman that is bitter. Enough bitterness is in the world that a man has to deal with on daily basis. A man wants to come to a woman that gone bring out the heaven in him, not hell. Like that record say "992 arguments I'm sick of fighting, 922I'm sick of you." They have some sorry men in the world, but in all fairness, they have some sorry women in the world as well. Yup, and they come in all colors.

Grannystandingfortruth~I am black and not only do I love myself I love my people. If I didn't love my people I wouldn't openly say the things that most say privately and subject myself to personal attacks. Thank you for doing the legwork on the frontlines so that my "arrogant azz" could get an education and a job and I sincerely mean that. I apologize for not answering your education question to your satisfacation-- Yes, government should provide funding so that teachers can be paid well. But you should get out more too because the school systems in the inner city of DC has had millions of taxpayer dollars poured into it and the scores have not risen at all! That's not the fault of the teachers, that's not the fault of the children, it's the fault of the parents who are not taking an active roll in the education of their kids because if a teacher isn't doing right by a child the parent should be on top of the situation, if a child is not taking school seriously then the parent needs to handle that situation as well -- so I repeat the parents need to be proactive. There is no way my daughter could have brought home bad grades without me addressing that situation with a swiftness! Grannyfortruth, my simple premise is this-- racism exists I know and it probably always will but we have to take some responsiblity for being at the bottom of every demographic. 70% of black woman are single and it's not because we put men through hell (before you attack me I'm married) its because marriage just isn't that important to us and that is problematic because it's easier to accumulate wealth with two incomes. I'm done with this and I'm sorry if you have in anyway been offended and that I seem arrogant to you because I maintain that we have some serious problems as a people and white folk have nothing to do with those particular problems. I thought your were grannyfortruth not grannysteepedindenial.

1. Get mad as hell. Not crazy mad but angry mad. Furious. Then calm down and plot with cold precision and logic how you are going to make the Republican Party extinct. The first thing is to remember that there are many Republicans for Obama. Make sure that these Republicans know that they are welcome in the Democratic Party or Green Party or Libertarian Party (or whatever third party you support).

2. The Florida vote will be rigged again. So will every other red state. Gather evidence and document every criminal act of the Republicans and then prosecute.

3. If you are black or African-American and you are told that you are classified as ineligible to vote, then do the following: get a provisional ballot. Track the progress and location of that provisional ballot. Get the name and home address of the person who stopped you from voting. Get the name and home address of everyone who flashes a badge or I.D. in your face and impedes your right to vote. Remember, your goal is not to be arrested (that tactic went out with the Sixties). Your goal is to put them behind bars. Literally. Not figuratively or metaphorically. Document everything. Make sure you have witnesses with backbones and nerves of steel. These subhumans that stop you from voting having been getting away with murder for half a millennium. No more. If you are prevented from casting even a provisional ballot, go straight to a judge to get an immediate injunction before the polls close. If you do not get immediate relief, then have the judge removed from the bench. Bad judges are subject to review and sanctions. Florida and other Southern states will not be cleaned up until enough Republican disenfranchisers go to prison for a very long time. Make those numbers (convictions and years of prison terms) as high as possible.

4. In many states, being in jail does not disenfranchise (take away your right to vote) you.

5. Challenge poll taxes, poll tests or any other qualification to vote. If you had enough sense to register in the first place, then you have the right to vote. In states with motor voter and other automatic schemes, don't let them tell you some lie to keep you from casting a ballot.

6. Track provisional ballots and see that there is security around them. Republicans will wait till the public is distracted in the days after the election and then quietly throw them away. Often elections are lost not on Election Day but in the weeks and months afterward.

7. Track the electors of the Electoral College. If they vote against your wishes, then start criminal, civil, and Constitutional actions against them personally. Devote the next several decades of your life to abolishing the Electoral College. The Founding Fathers must have been smoking the hemp paper instead of writing on it when they cooked up that nonsense. Democracy? Yeah right. No other democracy in the world has this bull.

8. Not paying your taxes or being suddenly declared insane and under conservatorship or any other lame excuses that they invent are not valid (or even invalid) bars to voting. Run straight to the nearest reporter with a live on-the-air camera and scream bloody murder. If you have a choice of reporters, avoid FOX since they are in the pocket of the disenfranchisers. Instead run to Sixty Minutes, YouTube, BBC, PBS, bloggers, and any investigative journalist that you recognize.

9. Take the worst of the worst disenfranchisement horror stories to Frontline, Bill Moyers, and Now (PBS) because these are the best of the best. And only the best is good enough for you.

10. All voting machines are suspect. Few are reliable. All are made and serviced by Republican owners. Few have paper receipts or audit trails. If the election is fishy, smash the machines in a civil disobedience action or find a legal way to permanently remove Republicans from involvement in election technology. Consult a national civil rights organization for training if you decide on civil disobedience. Get publicity arranged ahead of time. We don't do criminal acts in the wee hours like Republicans.

11. All voting software is suspect. All are programmed and coded by Republican owned software companies. Again, there is little available in the way of checking for rigging. However if the election is fishy, there are experts in forensic accounting and forensic computer crime who can put the Republicans responsible behind bars. Find out who those experts are and vet them. Then lean on prosecutors, district attorneys, the Justice Department (not the Bush Administration), Democratic Party officials, and Obama campaign lawyers to use their skills to find the smoking gun in the lines of code and programmers notes. Don't hold your breath for any apparatchik to confess. If they can rig voting software, then they have no conscience. They are sociopaths.

12. Voter database companies are also Republican owned. Picket their headquarters. Circulate petitions to have their contracts canceled. Bankrupt them. Why should voter rolls be in the clutches of Republican vampires? This defies reason, privacy laws, freedom, ethics, fairness, and logic. The Federal Election Commission, investigative journalists, Libertarians, privacy advocates, ethics boards, civil rights groups, The League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, Common Cause, Ralph Nader, and perhaps individuals like you could investigate this.

13. Voter suppression reduces the number of people voting by putting them in categories ineligible to vote. This is based on the hypothesis that if only the rich, religious (nuts), racist, and right wing can vote then only Republicans can vote. They have pro-choice people (doctors, nurses, activists) categorized as murderers. They have Green Party members, environmentalists, and pacifists entered into police dossiers as terrorists. Challenge this with the Freedom of Information Act. Get the Patriot Act wiped off the books. Punish the bastards who voted for the Patriot Act by kicking them out of Congress one by one. Pursue a vendetta against George W. Bush for having it written and then signing it into law. Undermine the finances, the construction, and even the very idea of a presidential library for that bastard Dubya.

14. Election Day should be held on a weekend so that the middle class, the working class and the working poor can get to the polls. Often Republican bosses fire people for not showing up or showing up late on Election Day. Therefore, early on Tuesday, publish a list of employers who have disenfranchised workers in previous years and publish it in blogs and daily newspapers. Badger the television news reporters to go after the worst offenders and stick a camera in the face of bad bosses. If they can't make Election Day a holiday, then make it a weekend.

15. Voter purging is the practice of simply taking names off the voter rolls or simply throwing away votes. In the past, Republicans did this on the basis of race but now anyone who is not a Republican (Independent, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, or other third party) is a potential victim. If they don't let you vote, this is one obvious sign that you have been purged. But it may be worse. They may throw away your regular paper ballot, your provisional paper ballot, your absentee ballot, your early voting ballot, your electronic vote, or your alternate method of voting after the polls close. Members of the military should reports discrepancies to JAG or service organizations. Civilians living overseas should contact both a party organization (Democrats Abroad, US Libertarian international organizations, Green Party, etc.) and a news organization like BBC or CNN. College students should raise hell if they suspect that they are given information that will cause them to drive a long distance to the wrong place. Expect Republicans to make a special effort to disenfranchise the young. Young people should contact the nearest Obama campaign office to report problems.

16. Voter intimidation is the use of terrorism, threats, scare tactics, and old Jim Crow methods (up to and including violence and murder) to keep people from voting. Those traditionally used against blacks in the South, the method is now widely applied against unions, Native Americans, Hispanics, and even religious minorities. They scare old people with robot dialers. Republicans still use the South as a laboratory for developing new ways to stop non-Republicans from voting. If something works there, it will be tried in other states. [Blacks are the canary in the mine. If they die, we all die.] If you feel intimidated, then go with family, friends, and neighbors to vote. Take a video camera, a cellphone, and the numbers of YouTube and watch-the-crooks organizations on speed dial. If you need to, take a bodyguard, a police escort, and a lawyer. If you distrust the police, then call the civil rights organizations (like the NAACP, SCLC, CORE, and PUSH), the Southern Poverty Law Center, and other organizations with experience in dealing with violence. If the violence is open, contact bloggers with video capability and YouTube. In the 2000 election, the American news media did not bother to cover the disenfranchisement of blacks in Florida. The international news media did cover it but most Americans have never seen those reports. Therefore bloggers are safer bets since Big Money Republicans control the news.

17. Voter caging is the practice of sending mail to see if it is answered. Never mind that you might get your mail at a second home, at work, at school, at an apartment, at a hotel, at the Post Office, at a private box, via military forwarding, or some other location. You might be moving, traveling, out of town, or out of the country. If you have thrown away junk mail or if you suspect that the Republicans might cage you, then check to see if you have been eliminated from the voter rolls or challenged by the Republican Party. If you have been, then get yourself reinstated and then sue the Republican Party for the largest sum of money that you can imagine. Think north of a billion. If you run up against caps on jury awards, then turn your attention to getting those laws off the books. Then resume your lawsuit against the Republicans. Bankrupt the bastards. Remember, stay mad as hell. Don't take it anymore.

18. Voter injustice is politicizing the judicial branch of government. This has been a reality since the Supreme Court gave the White House to Bush and he continued the Republican practice of stacking the courts with Republican judges who always rule against consumers and voters.

19. It is not a crime to register more than once despite Republican lies. The most recent registration is what counts. It is a crime to vote more than once and it happens a lot in rich Republican precincts where there are no poll watchers from other parties. If you are Independent, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, or some other party, then organize an effort to catch the criminals in the act. To give you an idea of how bad voter fraud by Republicans is, Republicans themselves are reporting this!

20. The Republicans want you to believe that by exercising ANY of your Constitutional rights that you are somehow violating some obscure law that only they have heard of. They count on your fear and ignorance to maintain themselves in power. [“Ignorance is Strength" was one of the Big Brother mottoes in the novel 1984 by George Orwell and that Republicans are anti-education.]

21. Do not think for one second that I have exhausted the arsenal of Republican dirty tricks (a euphemism for prosecutable crimes). Evil people can think of more ways to do evil than you can think of ways to do good. They reveal themselves by making fun of "do-gooders". The reason the McCain campaign is making such a big deal out of ACORN is because Republicans are anti-community and because they don't want poor people to vote. ["Socialism" and "communism" are code words for don't let the working poor or homeless with jobs vote. Never mind that the Republicans just socialized the banks and are about to repeat the process with General Motors.] If you are homeless, evicted, foreclosed, in the hospital, overseas, unemployed, don't own property, or in some other classification or group, then they might challenge your right to vote. Vote anyway. Sue the bastards if they try to stop you. In other countries, the government encourages voting. Some even fine you or otherwise punish you for not voting. Considering how hard it is to tear down a totalitarian regime and establish a democracy, they should punish nonvoting. Republicans are totalitarians because they are against the idea of 100% turnout. They are against democracy.

22. Lastly, dedicate your life to putting George W. Bush and Dick Cheney behind bars in a supermax prison. Not some cushy country Club Fed. They want law and order. So let them have it. They want to fill up the prisons. Let them rot in solitary confinement until old age delivers the capital punishment they really deserve. Tricky Dick Nixon escaped justice. Don't let Dubya and Dick Cheney get away with what they've done to America and to you and your family.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that marriage isn't important to black people. However, I will say this the same advice that parents back in my generation gave us, for some reason it died and was buried along the way, because some folks didn't want to be as strict on their kids as ours were on us. They tended to look down on some of that older wisdom, which was a big mistake.

Men haven't change that much in their way of thinking. They still feel if a woman slept with someone else before them, they'll sleep with anybody. That's where the breakdown of morals came in at, being a virgin until marriage became old fashion, and no one tried to teach them different. But I don't fault the younger generation for that , I fault their parents who thought that what their parents taught them wasn't what they would teach theirs, which led to the cart before the horse generation we have now, with some leaving out the horse altogether. Why buy the milk when you can get the cow free became the attitude of the young men today so to speak. If people knew better, they would do better.

I love my black people as well, but I don't go around putting them down, instead I try to the best of my ability to teach, show them by example, and help them when I can by pointing them in the right direction. I show them the same dignity and respect I do others maintaining a better standard of life then them. I believe in putting into action solutions to make a change, instead of harping on what's wrong.

No you didn't offend me at all, because what you were speaking of doesn't apply to me. However, Granny has always been somewhat of a fighter for the underdog and those who cannot defend themselves. When I read your post, the reason I came down so hard on you was because you sounded just like a poster who posted as anonymous many times in the past ,and what you said was similar to a Jesse Lee Peterson script.

When I asked you those questions, all I wanted was a straight answer, because I just wanted to hear your views. However, you chose to take another route.

I don't know what is going on in the D.C. area, because I live on the West Coast. However, I can tell you some things that I witnessed out this way with my own two eyes. In my city the kids didn't even have books. The children went with out lunch in some schools, because the cafeterias ran out of food, and kids were not allowed to leave the school grounds. They lacked technology and many more things. Like that series "The Wire" they had them learning to test. Teachers made up petty excuses to send kids home in overcrowded classrooms where it was first come, first to get a seat.

Funds are being mismanaged, and spent more on the board members needs than the schools needs. I still have a problem with the District Supertindents taxes on her house being paid out of school funds and giving raises and monetary awards to staff members on the board while kids are going without books, and schools in serious need of repair.

How bad are repairs needed? Well, picture this a big gaping hole the size of basketball, on the outside of the building that lets you see straight through to the inside of the hallway, on the second floor. Or floors that are so old they are warped throughout so watch your step, or buildings that have deteriorated so bad until the termites have just about taken over.

A large number of parents showing up at school board meetings and being ignored as if they have no say so in the education of their children and not given a chance speak. Oh, the list gets longer. But well, those in charge are blameless, it's all the parents fault. I'd say some fault might lie with some parents, but not all.

That "ol fashioned" no sex before marriage came from 1026, or so. You know, back when kids married at age 13-15. So yeah, it made a LOT of sense not to have sex with the twelve year olds.

Kids were still kids, but they called it adultery back then, when people had teenage wild sex, or twenties swinging.

Meh. Marriage is a different institution now, and the sooner we wake up and realize what kept a lot of women in bad marriages was the economic reasoning, the sooner we understand that the serial monogamy we embrace in this country doesn't do much to hurt people.

Obama was raised by a single mom, wasn't he?

You work two jobs, conservative black woman, and go to night school -- and TELL ME when you got time to spend with your kids on their homework! White folks do it too. Trust me, it ain't just you.

To be honest with you, I think the customs and traditions in marriage go around in circles, and depend on the attitudes of the times. What I was referring to was what caused the unwed mother explosions. BTW, I have nothing against unwed mothers, Granny believes in minding her own business when it comes to folks personal lives and that everyone is still a human being to be treated with dignity and respect and the way you want to be treated. In addition, Granny loves kids and I don't care how they got here. The quickest way to get on Granny's dung list, is do something bad to kids.

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